BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz authorities say they have detained a 20-year-old man on his way to join the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in Syria.

Kyrgyzstan's Border Guarding Service said on August 1 that the man from the southern region of Batken was detained at the Osh airport while trying to leave the city for the Russian city of St. Petersburg.

It said the man, whose identity was not disclosed, had confessed he was planning to travel to Turkey and then Syria, where he wanted to join the IS militants.

Kyrgyz authorities said in June that several Kyrgyz nationals, who allegedly had fought alongside militants in Syria and Iraq, had been arrested after returning to Kyrgyzstan.

Bishkek says a total of more than 500 Kyrgyz citizens have joined the IS group in both Syria and Iraq.